Chapter 7 - The Final Eviction Notice
The silence in the boardroom returned, heavier and more suffocating than before.
Bradley slowly sank back down into his chair, his hands trembling violently—the exact same nervous tremor I had noticed in his finger on Friday night when he tried to point me toward the door.
The tables had turned completely. The arrogant titan of industry was gone, leaving behind a terrified, cornered fraud facing total ruin.
“Josie... please,” Bradley whispered, his voice cracking as actual tears welled up in his eyes. He reached across the table, desperately trying to clutch at my sleeve. “We’ve been married for five years. We built a life together. Please... don’t do this to me. I made a mistake. Khloe meant nothing to me! It was just a stupid distraction! I love you. Please give me another chance.”
I looked down at his trembling hand, remembering the exact moment in our foyer when he had grabbed my arm and demanded I bow to his authority.
Slowly, deliberately, I pulled my arm away.
“You told me to leave on Friday night, Bradley,” I said softly. “You told me to take a cheap hotel room and find somewhere else to go because you wanted to play house with Khloe.”
“I didn’t mean it!” he sobbed, his pride entirely shattered into dust. “I was angry! I was foolish!”
“No,” I corrected him. “You were entirely honest. You showed me exactly who you are. And now, you get to experience the exact consequence of your own arrogance.”
I turned to Simon. “Have security escort Mr. Lawson out of the building immediately. Ensure his corporate access badge is deactivated, his company cell phone is confiscated, and his personal belongings are packed into a cardboard box and left on the public sidewalk outside.”
“Right away, Ms. Vance,” Simon nodded briskly.
Two heavy-set corporate security guards stepped out from the side corridor, their dark suits and stern expressions leaving zero room for negotiation. They walked over to Bradley, gripping him firmly by both shoulders.
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“Get your hands off me! I’m the CEO! I’ll sue you all!” Bradley shrieked, thrashing wildly as the guards effortlessly hoisted him out of his chair and dragged him backward toward the double doors. “Josie! You can’t do this to me! You’ll ruin me!”
He kicked and screamed all the way out of the penthouse, his frantic protests slowly fading down the hallway until the heavy frosted-glass doors clicked shut, sealing him out of the empire forever.
